Like many not-for-profit organizations that help people in the communities, the Livingston Family Care Center is feeling the pain of running its business on donations alone.

Robin Kindelberger, who is one of the 13 board members for the LFCC, stresses that a small amount could go far in the care of the clients they see at the center.

“We are solely funded by donations, whether it is from grants, local community chests, United Way or local churches. The donations are what sustains us, so we’re trying to let Livingston County and the community know that we’re here and that we are donation driven,” she explained. “If 1,000 people donated $3 to $5, just think of how many people it could serve through the clinic.”

The Family Care Center, which opened in 1993, has been helping adults in Livingston County, ages 19 through 64, who do not meet state or federal guidelines for assistance, are without insurance or who are unable to purchase insurance. Children under the age of 18 qualify for other state programs, so the center caters to adults only.

“We have an application process you have to go through. You have to show proof of income, whether you have a medical card and residency. We don’t want to discriminate but you have to fit within the guidelines and we have to verify those guidelines,” Kindelberger said.

Board members work throughout the year to apply for grant money from various places to help care for the many people that walk through the clinic’s doors. In 2012 alone, there were 476 active patients.

“We have just recently received a grant form the Caterpillar Foundation and that was for health and education awareness and information throughout the community and with the clients. We’ll have to reapply for that every year and that’s more for education purposes, whether it is for fliers, handouts, classes, but that is a grant that we received (last week),” she said. “We’re constantly looking for other grants for other avenues. With any of the big corporate things, we look into them and see if we qualify. Letting the community know what we’re about, what we do and that even the smallest of donations can help us continue to be here and offer the services that we do.”

Kindelberger added that the Humiston Trust and the United Way have been two of its biggest supporters as well.

The clinic is open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday, but appointment times vary, as doctors volunteer their time to see patients.

There is only one paid employee at the clinic. Kim Coomber, RN, is also the director of the clinic. The doctors that see patients at the clinic come primarily from OSF Saint James-John W. Albrecht Medical Center. Doctors at Family Eye Care and Midwest Dental also see referral patients for vision and dental issues.

Page 2 of 2 - “We also use specialists from Bloomington affiliated with OSF, orthopedics, plastic surgery, surgeons, gastrointestinal and other specialties. Nurse practitioners and physician’s assistants also see patients here,” Coomber added. “If we don’t have the resources to take care of them here, more than likely we can put them in contact with the appropriate people.”

The medical care offered at the center also involves education and medication.

“Education is huge through here regarding how to care for yourself during illnesses, especially diabetes education and management. Nearly 40 percent of our patients are pre-diabetic or diabetic,” Coomber said. “We do have a local pharmacy that works with us at a reduced rate, also.”

Generous donations and grant money has kept the clinic afloat, but more money could help more people.

“You’ll go spend $5 for a meal. You’ll spend it on Lottery tickets. Well, for a one-time donation, it can serve someone for an entire month to keep them out of the hospital to keep them from becoming even more severely ill. It might not seem like a lot to you and I, but to someone else, it could make a difference in their life,” said Kindelberger.

Donations, which could be monetary or include items like paper towels, cleaning supplies, hand sanitizer, or other useful household items, can be dropped off at the LFCC at 305 W. Madison St. in Pontiac, or Kindelberger said that by calling the office at 815-842-1441, someone could go pick up the items, also.